2014 Student Awards

The Vacant Property Research Network announced in December 2013 its first annual scholarship to sponsor two masters students whose research contributes to new knowledge and practice around vacant properties. The scholarships recognize the success of outstanding students of planning, public administration, geography, environmental sciences, architecture, and other closely related fields.

In May 2014, the Vacant Property Research Network awarded two scholarships ($250) to Patrick Cooper-McCann and Amber Knee, two students enrolled in masters degree programs. These winners were selected from the submission of a single-authored paper (12-30 pages in length) on a “vacant property” topic, which we broadly called everything from de-industrialized landscapes, distressed cities and shrinking regions to land banks, code enforcement strategies, and housing courts.

Patrick Cooper-McCann is a joint masters and PhD student in urban planning at the University of Michigan. To learn more about this work and his paper, “The Politics of Spatial Targeting: Urban Triage in St. Louis,” please check out our interview with him here.

Amber Knee is a second year masters student in city and regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania. To learn more about her work and paper, “Strengthening the Core: Recalibrating Philadelphia Through Vacancy,” please check out our interview with her here.

Congrats to both of the winners and all of the applicants for pushing forward the field of vacant property studies (and making our award announcement so difficult). We look forward to welcoming the next round of applicants in a Fall 2014 student paper competition.